Tag: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The La Food Festival filled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this year with everything from myriad ice cream socials to all types of savory beef and vegan dishes. This year the event took a different approach by setting up all the vendors inside the walkway of the Coliseum in a “C” formation as opposed to last year, when they had all the vendors on the lawn side of the Coliseum.

The main attraction was the Nuevo Gastropub area, where chef Dante Ferrero cooked up 1 cow, 2 goats and 2 pigs over 24 hours — quite a feat. The crowd stood around the gated Gastropub area and watched while the chef or his helpers would cut up the meat into slices and fill up an aluminum tray and then serve it up to the waiting crowd. It was quite the scene to see the barbecued carcass still steaming hot under the fiery embers. The meat was also used for the various vendors who made tacos, pork sliders and other dishes.

We discovered a restaurant vendor over in the vegan section with the best vegan tacos around. Jeries Rabie, the owner, will be opening up a restaurant this summer in west Hollywood called 5 Elementos on Santa Monica and Hancock. We sampled their Organic Mexican Cuisine, and it was fabulous! We tasted the handmade tortillas made with gluten-free golden corn flour and the asada and tofu tacos with a zesty Chipotle sauce. The whole taco was scrumptious and healthy. Look them up: Themed as So-Cal Mexican-style cuisine, they differentiate by using organic, Non-GMO ingredients to create dishes that set them apart from traditional Mexican restaurants.

At The Ceviche Stop, the cooks outdid themselves this year with a Ceviche Peurano served up in coconut shell with mango cucumbers, red onions, cilantro and ceviche and some delish spices. It had such an amazing taste — you could eat it every day.

Look them up: Ceviche Stop is in different cities every Sunday, so the only way to find them is through social media, they post their address there 1 week in advance .

Around the corner, the vegan and vegetarian options held court and included vegan ice cream at the ice cream social.

Speaking of the ice cream social, we found so many sweet options to choose from that it made you dizzy wondering where to start. Among the vendors that stood out:

Chocolate Churro from Churro Boss were hot and sugary churros with chocolate caramel and condensed milk that were mind-blowingly good.

L.A.’s WanderlustIce Cream delivered delicious samplings inspired by their travels, such as their signature vegan Sticky Rice Mango ice cream inspired by Thailand and Abuelita Malted Crunch, inspired by Los Angeles itself and Japanese Neapolitan from the land of the rising sun. We tried the STICKY RICE + MANGO house-made rice milk ice cream made with coconut cream and swirls of mango puree. It was dairy-free and vegan — and as good as it looks!

Fluff Ice offered vegan ice cream but would add in a sprinkle of condensed milk. They offered a variety of tea and other flavors.

Jenis Splendid Ice Creams served up melt-in-your-mouth exotic flavors using whole ingredients and dairy from grass-pastured cows rather than synthetic flavorings and commodity ice cream mix.

Ray’s BBQ brought its Texas-woodsmoked style brisket that melts in your mouth. The buttery, tender and juicy meat delivers a huge amount of flavor in every bite. Yum!

Soup Bazaar’s artisanal soups included Brazilian Coconut Shrimp made with Cassava (yucca) peppers, cilantro and coconut milk. The vegan option, Black Lentil/Black Garlic, included mushrooms and charred tomato and peppers. Soup Bazaar has a wide selection of soups, sandwiches and salads at their cafe.

Nushii’s sushi burritos and bowls are perfect for lunch on the go. Varieties of rolled sushi burritos, bowls or salads include California Ahi Tuna, Signature Spicy Ahi Tuna, Citrus Royal Salmon, Teri Racha Chicken and — for vegans — Curry Lemon Grass Tofu or Hearty Herb Cauliflower. You can switch out the rice for seaweed, soy paper or seasonal greens, and there are different sauces and toppings, which are a must try!

From Casa De Brisa comes The Concha Burger, served on pan dulce (sweet bread) is salty and a little sweet — and a lot of delicious. This tasty burger can be made with beef or lamb and features a chipotle sauce to top it off. Casa De Brisa offers a full menu and catering services. There are also vegan options.

The Ensaymada Empanadas come from The Ensaymada Project, whose mission is to continue the century-old Pilipino tradition of artisanal pastries. Hailing from Mallorca, Spain, and perfected in the Philippines they are colorful, fluffy, creamy, moist and cheesy.

Hot Fat Donuts make them the way they should be made — with all the fried sugar and flour and sprinkles. Glorious %$#’ing doughnuts and a damn good cup of coffee. The Strawberry doughnut actually tastes like Strawberry! I tried them with coffee. Just wonderful.

Chori-Man offers a tasty twist on chorizo with Tolucan green chorizo (made with Poblano chiles & Zacatecano red chorizo). There were tacos with pickled onions, crema and cheese on organic yellow corn tortillas that were colorful and delicious — a fifth generation recipe.

Overall, there was a grand turnout at the LA Food Fest with the lines of people waiting to taste the delicacies of each vendor. If you come next year, you may want to go VIP so you can get ahead of the lines.

It was really a great way to kick off the summer in Los Angeles. See you next year!